Piracy
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Brunswick High Pirates sailed into the 2nd round of the Georgia High School Association playoffs with a 78-30 thumping of the Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs. (You read it correctly, 78-30, and it wasn’t a basketball game.)
The 78 points is a single-game record at BHS. The previous high was 70 points in 1998 and again in1999, against Windsor Forest and Liberty County, respectively.
As region champions from 1-5A, Head Coach Garrett Grady’s Pirates earned a #1 seed and hosted the #4 seed—Winder-Barrow—from Region 8-5A.
Taking advantage of failed onside kicks by the Bulldoggs, the Pirates used the short field to score on their first four possessions, building a 30-15 advantage after one period.
Winder-Barrow pulled within eight points at 38-30 midway through quarter two, but didn’t score again, as the Pirates posted 40 unanswered points.
Brunswick High led 54-30 at the half and 70-30 after three quarters, sending the game to a running clock for the fourth quarter.
A Pirate TD with 2:40 to go in the game put the final 78-30 tally on the scoreboard.
Senior quarterback Grant Moore entered the game needing 443 yards passing and 3 touchdown tosses to surpass 2017 BHS quarterback Jamarius Stevens in those categories for best all-time.
Already holding the Pirate records for career passing yards and career touchdown passes, Grant Moore rose to the task against Winder-Barrow. He completed 12 of 14 passes, shredding the Bulldogg defense for 344 yards passing and 5 touchdowns, with no interceptions.
He now needs 99 yards passing to complete a sweep of individual passing records for quarterbacks at Brunswick High, and he will get that opportunity Friday night when BHS hosts the Gainesville Red Elephants at Glynn County Stadium in a second-round matchup.
With 78 points showing on the scoreboard against Winder-Barrow, you would expect that many Pirates had big nights, and they did.
Dontre Butler, Nigel Gardner, Josiah Gibbons, Heze Kent, and Waseem Murray all scored touchdowns for the Pirates.
Kent and Gibbons each scored three TDs, while Gardner had two.
Brunswick High also converted 9 of 10 two-point conversions following touchdowns.
Defensively, Zi’yan Rankin had two official interceptions, but he also had a pick-six nullified by a penalty.
Samir Dobbins also had an interception.
The Pirate defense was tasked with limiting the success of Winder-Barrow running back Demetrius Dowdy. Dowdy was the leading rusher in all of 5-A, averaging 185 yards per game, while scoring 20 touchdowns.
He ran for 98 yards against the Pirates in the first half, but the Pirate D held Dowdy to only 14 yards rushing in the second half, for 112 on the night.
The Pirates defeated South Effingham in the regular-season finale on October 31. That victory, coupled with Effingham’s upset of Statesboro the same night, put Brunswick High at the top of the region standings.
The Pirates will undoubtedly find a much tougher opponent in Gainesville this Friday night at Glynn County Stadium.
The Red Elephants will come in with a 9-2 record. They are the #2 seed from Region 7, and defeated Dunwoody 48-3, the #3 seed from Region 4, in the first round.
